Update: Vegan-ness

And no, this is not a report saying I've reached nirvana yet...bummer.

But, and maybe this is my own little nirvana, I'll let you in on something: for perhaps the first time in my life, I find cooking relaxing. It has taken me completely by surprise that after a long day at work, once I force myself to spend a couple of hours cooking, it's somehow relaxing.

I think it has something to do with working with whole ingredients, knowing that what I'm making will be deeply nourishing for me. Sometimes I wish I didn't live in Texas, with its crazy hot summers and ugly mud-dirt for soil. I think there's an inner gardener in me that wants to become one with the earth, but not super sweaty as a byproduct.

It's also possible that this unexpected development isn't so much about becoming one with the Earth, but more about this simple fact: these days if I don't cook, I don't eat.